My Brother's Kryptonite
by Donatello8696
Summary: Everyone should know that even Superman can't be invinsible. He has problems too. How will Darry deal when he gets sick?
1. Chapter 1

**I know. I know what you're all thinking: Why is she writing _another_ story when she has, like, _ten_ others to finish? My answer? For somethin' to do. My brain always gets foggy when nearing summer time. Ya know, getting out of school and complete freedom for at least 3 months! I don't have _time _think of ideas for my already published stories when sudden new ideas pop into my head! This was one of them. My mind should start to function again once summer arrives. In the meantime, enjoy all the brand new stories I will publish for the rest of the school year!**

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I woke up to a beam of sunlight shining through the window blindes into my face. I groaned and pinched my eyes shut tighter, trying to retrieve some of the darkness that had just been there seconds before. But the light managed to sneak through my eyelids, stinging. I muttered a string of curse words as I removed Soda's arm from around me, kicked off my covers and moved my feet off the side of the bed, rubbing at my aching eyes. I grunted as I tiredly stood up and slowly walked over to the window, pulling down the string and shutting the blinds. They closed with a snap.

Satisfied with the darkness it provided, I turned and walked back over to my bed, setting myself down and pulling the covers back over myself. I sighed at the warmth.

Soda shifted beside me and I heard him groan softly in his sleep as he replaced his arm around my torso, pulling me close to him. I chuckled quietly.

I was about to drop off again when I noticed the small alarm clock on my bedside table.

_12:07 _

I lifted my head off the pillow, eyes struggling to stay open, and frowned. The alarm wasn't set for today since it was a Saturday; no school and Soda's day off. Darry let us sleep in on Saturdays, but never later than 11:00. It was past noon now.

Where was Darry?

Once again, I sat up, removed Soda's arm, and got out of bed. It was unlike Darry to ever miss waking us up. If he had to work early, he would at least wake us up to let us now where he was going and when he'd be back. He never missed a day for six months.

Why stop now?

I walked out of my room and down the hall, approaching Darry's bedroom. There was no movement coming from his bedroom, but he couldn't have gone to work, as the Ford would have made enough noise to wake us up. And he wasn't making breakfast, as there was no scent in the air indicating that anything was on the stove. I went on until I reached his slightly ajar door. Now I could hear some form of life coming from within the room; Darry was snoring softly.

Knitting my eyebrows, I quietly pushed the door open and went inside.

Darry was sleeping soundly on his bed, looking dead to the world. As I approached him, I noticed something else. His forehead was shining with sweat.

I walked over to his side and kneeled down, gently shaking his shoulder. "Darry," I whispered, "Darry, wake up. C'mon Darry, get up."

With a soft groan, I saw Darry's eyelids struggling to open until they were up about a centimeter, staring at me wearily with bloodshot eyes. "Pony?" he croaked. God, he sounded just as awful as he looked.

"Jesus, Darry. You don' look so hot," I said. Darry groaned and closed his eyes.

"Understatement," he murmured. I frowned and immediately put my hand on his forehead. I almost jumped back with a yelp. He was burning up. Darry opened his eyes a bit wider than last time and stared at me.

"I think you have a fever, Dar," I whispered. He blinked slowly before closing his eyes again.

"Glory, my head hurts," he mumbled, pinching his eyes shut tightly. After the pain seemed to go away, Darry looked at me again. "What time is it?" I glanced at the wall clock.  
"12:13."

"Shit," he whispered, and weakly kicked off the covers, which had been until this point wrapped tightly around him. I noticed a visible shiver go through his body as he sat up. I stood.

"No, Darry. Go back to sleep. You're gonna have to call in sick today," I said, pushing him back down into lying position. Darry didn't try and stop me, but protested all the same.

"No. I gotta go to work. I'm late, and - an - " he didn't have time to finish his sentence before he let out a powerful sneeze, having a coughing fit almost immediately afterward. He cursed and groaned, clutching his forehead. I pulled the covers back over him.

"Go back to sleep, Darry," I said quietly.

"But - "

"No buts. Ya can't go to work like this." Darry opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. "Don't worry Darry. I'm sure the construction site will be okay without you for a few days. Besides, you've been working yourself overtime for weeks. You need some decent rest, which I'm sure you haven't been getting for a while."

"Pony - "

"Get. Some. Sleep." I wasn't trying to be demanding, but I knew my brother needed some rest desperately.

Darry stared at me tiredly before sighing in obvious defeat, and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was sleeping again. I heard something shift behind me and turned my head to find Sodapop in the hallway, watching silently. He nodded and I turned back to Darry. Once I was satisfied that he was sleeping well, I turned and walked out of his room, shutting the door softly behind me. Soda turned his eyes on me.

"Is he okay?" Soda asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"He has a bad fever, Soda. His forehead was hotter than hell," I whispered. Soda took a deep breath and and said, "What are we gonna do? We can't afford having Darry out of work, even if it's only for a couple of days."

"Darry'll be fine," I said in a hushed voice. "He's been working too hard, and he's made some more money than usual so we'll be okay for a while. For right now..."

"We have to do whatever it takes to get him better _fast_, "Soda finished, nodded his head whilst running a hand through his hair. "Right."

"Yeah," I sighed. Soda smiled softly and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll call his work, you can start breakfast," he said. I nodded and went on to the kitchen while Soda called Darry's boss.

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**Uh-oh. (singsong voice) Something's wrong with Dar - ry. (normal voice) Well, this is yet another idea I had sitting in my mind, poking at me with a mental stick until I typed it down. And here's the first chapter! Next chapter might have the others coming over and have some melo-drama about Superman getting the flu. LOL So like Two-Bit to do that...**

**Well, anyway, I hope you like this. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whew! Second chapter at last! Let's keep this up, huh? **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Outsiders, no matter how many times I ask S.E. Hinton. x)**

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I reluctantly opened my eyes, irritated to find that sleep was not ready to leave me yet, stinging my eyes and forcing them shut. I raised an arm out of the tangled mess of the blankets I had on me and carefully rubbed my eyes, slowly feeling my lids getting lighter. I removed my hand and blinked, pleased to see that I had been successful; my eyes no longer felt heavy with the need to sleep. I quickly raised my head to see the clock.

That was a mistake.

Right when my head left the pillow, the biggest pain I ever felt in my entire life hit my head with such a force that I immediately shut my eyes tight and gingerly laid my head back down with a groan. Gently, I used the same hand I used previously to massage my right temple lightly, trying to get rid of the ringing in my ears. Once I was sure I was okay, I opened my eyes again, relieved to see that the world had stopped spinning.

"Damn," I whispered hoarsely. That simple word sent a spark of fire down my throat that only last for a second. I knew that if I talked any louder, it would seriously hurt like hell.

I couldn't stay in my room any longer. I was getting fidgety just laying here in bed. At least I knew how Soda felt during school. I tried to get up again, this time more slowly then before. It seemed to work; nausea still rocked in my stomach and behind my eyes but it wasn't anything major, and at least the ground stood still. I moved my legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a while, focusing on the best way to get to the door without falling over a few times.

I stood up, trembling slightly. This illness had taken away most of my balance, and I felt wrong standing on my two feet. I walked over to the door quietly, miraculously without stumbling, and headed out.

I could hear the sound of food cooking in the kitchen, but was unable to smell it; my stuffy nose had taken care of that. Getting slightly more annoyed with my sudden disabilities, I walked into the kitchen to find Ponyboy cooking something over the stove, his back to me.

"Hey Pony," I greeted thickly. Right then, I proved myself right when I thought that it would be painful to speak any louder than a whisper. I might as well have shoved a burning iron down my throat. I choked down a cry by covering my mouth while I let out a deep cough.

Ponyboy whirled, eyes wide. "Darry," he said. I had clearly taken him by surprise. "What're you doin' outta bed?" Disapproval was laced in his tone. I almost smiled; he sounded exactly like I would have if our positions were reversed.

I shrugged, something he would do. "Couldn't sleep," I croaked, moving to sit at one of the chairs by the table. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he didn't press further. Instead, he asked in a more gentler tone, "How are you feeling?"

I groaned again, placing my head in my hands, elbows propped on the table. "Like I was hit by a truck, got into a bad rumble, and steam-rolled all in one," I whispered, looking up at him. He gave a grim smile.

"Yeah, well. You were out pretty much the whole day. I'm cooking dinner right now. You feel like eating?"

At the mention of food, my stomach clenched and twisted into a knot. I frowned; normally I ate like a horse, stuffing myself every day. But now...

"No thanks, Pone," I said. "Maybe when I don't feel sick to my stomach."

He nodded, looking a little concerned, and turned back to the stove. I glanced into the living room and noticed for the first time that someone was missing. "Where's Sodapop?"

"Oh, yeah. He went out with Steve earlier today about an hour ago. He said he'd be back in time for dinner," he said without looking at me.

As if on cue, the front door slammed open. "I'M HOME!" Soda shouted loudly. Much too loudly. I moaned as my head began throbbing, and I leaned forward into my hands again. This was much worse than a bad hangover, even though I haven't had one since I was sixteen. And then Soda was in the kitchen, Steve tailing behind. I glanced up, glaring. Soda smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Dare. I forgot," he said. I pursed my lips, nodding. I looked over at Steve.

"Hey Steve," I greeted. Steve smirked.

"Hey Darry. Say, I didn't know Superman could get sick," he teased. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You're asking for another crack at your jaw once I'm better," I threatened. He put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, sorry," he said. But there was still a trace of teasing apparent in his voice. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Soda.

"Could you get me some asprin? My head feels like it's going to split open," I said, once again cradling my head in my hands.

"Sure," Darry I heard Soda say, and a moment later I heard someone rummaging through the cupboard. Soon, a bottle of white pills sat before me. "Thanks," I muttered, shaking two out of the bottle and swallowed them dry. Soda and Steve headed into the living room, and soon I heard the television turning on. I looked back at Pony and found him staring back at me, this time the worry more pronounced in his expression.

"You sure you're okay, Dare?" he asked.

I managed to put on a reassuring smile. "Yeah, little buddy. I'm alright, don't worry about me."

At 'little buddy' his eyes lit up, but he still didn't look convinced. I sighed.

"Really, Pone. I'll probably be better by tomorrow okay?"

He hesitated, then nodded, taking out some plates. I leaned back in my chair and tried to relax. But it was hard knowing that in a couple hours time I would back where I was most of today: back in bed, fidgety, with suffocatingly hot blankets piled on top of me.

Whoop-de-doo.

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**So here you have chapter two! And once again, I have updated before the deadline! I'm so proud of myself! =D**

**Well anyway, to the readers out there reading this A/N, I now drop to my knees and beg for your forgiveness. I am SO sorry that I have been neglecting my Outsiders stories. But I never knew that being thirteen had so many problems in life, and those problems taught me lessons, and those lessons gave me ideas. So I have a mindful right now of other junk that I couldn't just focus on one story. But now I'm back! And I'm going to try and update more often. This time for real, 'kay?**

**Thanks for your support everyone! And I'd like to send a shoutout to _Rosebud5_, who had sent me a message not long ago and gave me the extreme motivation to finish this story. Thank you so much!**

**Please review! =)**


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